accidentally

adverb

ac·​ci·​dent·​al·​ly ˌak-sə-ˈdent-lē  -ˈden-tᵊl-ē 

: in an accidental or unintended manner : by accident

I accidentally deleted the file.

The lock prevents the gate from opening accidentally.

Six lionfish were accidentally released from a home aquarium in Biscayne Bay, Fla., during Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

—Alcestis Cooky Oberg

The Olympic test was thrown out after the test lab accidentally destroyed the backup sample … that's required to confirm a positive result.

—Christie Aschwanden

He bumped into her accidentally on purpose. [=he bumped into her intentionally but he tried to make it appear to be an accident]

Examples of accidentally in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In July, a cybersecurity company accidentally introduced a single software bug that canceled or delayed tens of thousands of flights and trains, halted surgeries, and blacked out television broadcasts around the world. —The Atlantic Science Desk, The Atlantic, 28 Dec. 2024

In-ho began fumbling, accidentally letting go of the top and even flinging it backwards. —Esther Kang, People.com, 26 Dec. 2024

On Thursday, Reuters reported that investigators are looking into whether the plane was shot down accidentally by Russian air defense systems, based on interviews with four unnamed sources with knowledge of the preliminary findings of Azerbaijan's investigation into the crash. —Olivia B. Waxman, TIME, 26 Dec. 2024

Directed by Jon Favreau, the 2003 movie stars Will Ferrell as Buddy, a human who was accidentally raised by Santa's elves at the North Pole. —Andy Biggs, Newsweek, 25 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above